Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies alongside local civil society coalitions have launched an extensive search across border divisions to locate 43-year-old Mumtaz Begum, an Indian resident of Assam who disappeared immediately after being deported across the international boundary on June 14, 2026. Addressing the unfolding situation from Dhaka, Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed, Additional Secretary for Political and Immigration Affairs in Bangladesh’s Ministry of Home Affairs, confirmed that administrative units have received zero formal leads despite ongoing inquiries and are awaiting official bilateral documentation from New Delhi. In an effort to generate community-level information, coordinated search squads have been actively combing urban Sylhet and adjacent frontier districts, publishing identifying photographs and physical descriptions in major Bengali-language dailies on September 22 to expedite tracing operations.

Gauhati High Court Slams Arbitrary Action: Quashes Tribunal Order and Grants ₹2 Lakh Relief

The missing woman's plight has escalated into a legal and diplomatic flashpoint following sharp strictures issued by the Gauhati High Court on September 3, which fundamentally dismantled the state apparatus's deportation process. A division bench forcefully quashed the decree of the local Foreigners Tribunal that had labeled Mumtaz a foreigner, ruling that constitutional principles guarantee inviolable human rights to every individual present on Indian territory. Chastising authorities for summarily pushing her across the international border without giving her a fair opportunity to approach the High Court or informing her adult household members, the court directed the Assam government to disburse an interim compensation of ₹2 lakh to her distressed husband, Muzammel Haque, while ordering India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to actively coordinate with Dhaka to secure her safe repatriation.

Ignored Legitimate Ancestral Records: How Administrative Rushing Caused a Border Ordeal

Judicial scrutiny revealed severe procedural failures in how the tribunal scrutinized Mumtaz's citizenship documentation despite substantive ancestral proof presented on record. A native of Nagaon district, Mumtaz had submitted certified electoral roll documents verifying her grandfather's voter registration in 1965 and 1970, alongside her father's verified 1977 electoral records, statutory voter identification cards, Gaonburha certificates, Gram Panchayat lineage documentation, and formal school transfer registers. Despite appearing before the tribunal with legal counsel on May 30, she was abruptly detained by police and transferred through Juria and Nagaon Sadar stations, the Matia Transit Camp in Goalpara, and the Eraligul facility in Sribhumi before Border Security Force (BSF) units pushed her into Bangladesh via Kalainchera in Cachar on June 14, triggering a three-month disappearance that both nations are now desperately trying to resolve.